Shi Le

Shi Le (274-333), born Bei Fule, was Emperor of Later Zhao from 319 to 333, succeeding Prince Sima Lun and preceding Shi Hong.

Biography
Bei Fule was born to the Jie barbarians of Bing Province, and he was sold as a slave with several starving Jie and Xiongnu refugees in 304 after a great famine in Bingzhou. He took his owner's surname of "Shi" in honor of his manumission of Shi Le, and he became a bandit leader. He was interested in pillaging lands, and his army roved throughout central China. In 311, he defeated Sima Yue's funeral train en route to Donghai, defeating the largest Eastern Jin force still in central China. In spring 312, he attacked Sima Rui at Jianye, but his advisor Zhang Bin asked him to retreat. He made Xiangguo in Hebei his base, and he became a general of the rising Han Zhao dynasty. In 319, however, the ambitious Shi Le separated from Han Zhao to form his own state, Later Zhao.

Shi Le led the Later Zhao state, annexing remaining pockets of Jin power in northern and central China. In 320, he conquered Ji Province, and he defeated the Jin, leading to their decline. Shi Le also fought against the Han Zhao dynasty, which he had split from in 319. In 323, he annexed Shandong from Han Zhao, and in 325 he took Luoyang for Later Zhao. In 329, his most important victory came when he defeated Emperor Guangchu of Han Zhao, and he executed Guangchu and his crown prince, the would-be Emperor Yiguan of Han Zhao. This led to the destruction of Han Zhao, and Shi Le had the Liu family massacred. In 330, he assumed the title of "Heavenly Prince" and became Emperor, and he died three years later. His general Shi Hu would seize power and have Shi Le's family executed, as he was angry that Shi Le did not appoint him his crown prince.